Abstract
The estuarine benthic diatom Navicula arenaria Donkin was grown in perfusion chambers in which the cells adhered to analytical sand. A synthetic medium, containing various concentrations of orthophosphate, was continuously pumped through the cultures to prevent exhaustion of the medium. The division rates of the diatoms were independent of phosphate concentration in the medium from about 0.3 to 8 μg-at/l; lower concentrations were limiting (K S about 0.1 μg-at/l). The phosphate and chlorophyll a content of the N. arenaria cells was independent of phosphate concentration (even under limitation), except that the phosphate content of cells grown in media with 8 μg-at of phosphate increased. The data indicate that this benthic diatom uses low phosphate concentrations for growth as efficiently as several planktonic diatoms. The phosphate concentrations previously observed in the Eems-Dollard estuary (the original habitat of our strain of N. arenaria) were clearly higher than those limiting the growth rate of the cultures, and consequently may have no influence on benthic diatom growth.
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